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Basilosaurus
Basilosaurus ''(Name meaning "King Lizard") was a primative, prehistoric whale that lived in the late Eocene. These were by far the biggest predators in the Eocene seas Description '' Basilosaurus, just like Dorudon, was a prehistoric whale (Archaeocetii). Over four times the length of a Great White Shark, Basilosaurus ''was around 18-20 meters in length with a skull approximately 1.5 meters long, and weighed 60 tons. Its' post-cranial skeleton resembled that of the modern whales, but it still had nostrils rather than a blowhole, and its' ribcage indicates that it couldn't dive as deep as the modern whales can. Incidentially, when it was first discovered in the 1830s, ''Basilosaurus ''was thought to be another giant sea reptile (like the mosasaurus), just like sea serpents, or even the Loch Ness Monster, and hence its name means "the regal reptile". Later though, via its teeth, ''Basilosaurus ''true identity as a primitive whale was established, but due to scientific rules, the original name had to remain. ''Basilosaurus ''lived in the late Eocene time period, roughly 43-38 MYA, even though the '''Walking with Beasts' episode is dated 36 MYA instead. It lived in the warm and shallow seas (like the Tethys) of the time, and it resembled the carnivorous marine reptiles that died during the K/T extinction event, especially in the skull, where it had saw-edged teeth used for catching fish and other slippery sea life. It’s incredible to think, then, that their ancestors were tiny, furry, shrew-like animals that lived in trees. Females were eagerly pressured by several males, but it was the eldest and the biggest males the females chose to mate with. Mating was not an easy task for such huge, free–floating animals, so Basilosaurus ''needed a little extra help. As the successful male maneuvered into position, they called upon one small legacy of their distant lend ancestors. ''Basilosaurus ''retained two tiny back legs. These were useless for walking or even swimming, but they were used to lock their long narrow bodies together during mating. The skulls of ''Basilosaurus ''are chilling to most people. There are no whales with skulls like the skull of ''Basilosaurus ''in modern times. Great peg–like teeth at the front for seizing prey. Once inside the mouth, the prey is sliced up by the big teeth at the back, great big cusps at the front: they are for slicing through flesh. In '''Walking with Beasts' ep. 2, Basilosaurus ''was looked up in detail: the audience saw how it used its vestigal hind legs during mating, how it hunted smaller sharks, as well as ''Dorudon ''young in the open waters, and how it on occassion would enter the mangrove forests to hunt such creatures as ''Moeritherium, although unsuccessfully. In Sea Monsters ep. 2, the late Eocene seas in which Basilosaurus ''lived were identified as the 4th most dangerous sea of all time, mostly because of it. It was attracted by the sounds that came from Nigel Marven's speaker and eventually tore it off and swam away with it, shaking it as a tabby cat would shake a rat. In ''Walking With Cavemen the contitnets our moving and when you go in the water you quikley see'' '''a ''Basilosaurus. Appearances *Walking With Beasts *Prehistoric Planet *Sea Monsters *Walking With Cavemen (cameo) Gallery Basilosaurus large.jpg Category:Walking with Beasts Animals Category:Prehistoric Planet Animals Category:Sea Monsters Animals Category:Mammals Category:Whales Category:Walking with Wikia Category:Predator Category:Prehistoric Animals Category:Walking with Cavemen Animals